Brisbane’s DJ Pebbles having plenty of success in US with single Heart Away From You

SHE was once too shy to join the school choir but Brisbane’s Cartier Lee, aka DJ Pebbles, is already blasting past the likes of Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj on the US charts.

DJ Pebbles’s latest hit Heart Away From You has cracked No. 5 on the Billboard dance chart. Pictures: Adam Armstrong

SHE’S only 20, but Brisbane DJ, singer and actress Cartier Lee is dominating the US charts, notching up her second top 10 single on Billboard in a matter of months.

Known professionally as DJ Pebbles, Lee’s latest hit Heart Away From You last week cracked No. 5 on the dance chart, overtaking Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj’s track Swish Swish and coming in just behind the likes of Ed Sheeran and Rihanna.

Former American Idol judge Randy Jackson, who manages her and produced the new song, dubbed the young star “one of the most amazing new triple threat talents” he has seen in a long time.

Lee, who has been based in New York for just a year after moving over to study acting at New York University’s famed Tisch School of the Arts, told The Sunday Mail she was blown away by her recent success.

Brisbane ‘triple threat’ Cartier Lee.

“The funny thing is I focused on drama all through school and was a very nervous singer and would always sing in private,” she said.

“It’s insane – I never in made the school choir because I was so shy but an audition I went for prompted me to give it a try.”

But Lee, whose mum is fashion industry icon Keri Craig-Lee, said acting certainly hasn’t fallen by the wayside, revealing she currently has a number of “really big auditions on the boil”.

Following a quick trip home to Queensland, Lee – who is also being eyed to walk in shows at New York Fashion Week in September – kicks off a European tour tomorrow and will next focus on cracking the market in her homeland.

“I’m really looking forward to bringing it home because it has almost felt as if I was living a double life,” she said.

“Over there (in the US) people would stop me and want to take photos with me but I’d come here and no one knows who I am. So, we’re chatting to labels and I’m hoping to come back and finalise some contracts.”

Lee said the past year of her life had been “crazy” with some of her most memorable experiences including meeting Drake at Coachella and partying with The Weeknd.

“Once you’re in the industry, you’re completely in it. Just after I first got to New York I was sitting next to Paris Hilton at Fashion Week,” she said.

Working with Jackson has also been memorable for Lee, who describes him as a “very involved” manager.

“That’s what I like most about Randy, we have a very creative relationship and he’s very genuine but he’s not controlling at all,” she said.